Prejudice against ethnic Chinese tycoons remains

Prejudice against ethnic Chinese tycoons remains

By Tjipta Lesmana

JAKARTA (JP): The controversy over the plan to sell 50.1
percent of Indocement's Indofood to Singapore-based QAF Ltd has
subsided following a recent government statement.

According to an investigation conducted by government
ministers, the company's move does not amount to capital flight.
The plan, the government says, is in line with its policy of
anticipating the ASEAN Free Trade Area and Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation free trade eras.

Prior to this, the Salim group company's plan had been under
fire. According to Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono the
controversy even drew the attention of President Soeharto, who
ordered the ministerial investigation.

The plan, which is said to involve the restructuring of PT
Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, is obviously linked to Indonesia's
most prominent tycoon, Sudono Salim. The press even questioned
his nationalism. His accusers were convinced that Salim's plan
would severely damage the nation's economy.

Salim and other tycoons have already gone through similar
experiences. Salim was criticized when he invested in China, as
was Eka Tjipta when he set up a paper mill in China.

"We often operate under suspicion," said Sofyan Wanandi, a
businessman who often assumes the role of spokesman for the
Jimbaran Group, named after the place where some of the country's
most powerful tycoons promised to cooperate to help smaller
businesses.

Sofyan says the media is less than friendly to conglomerate
owners, while the tycoons themselves feel they have always helped
with government development programs in a substantial way. The
latest example being their assistance in creating gigantic rice
fields to alleviate poverty.

I once encountered a tycoon who looked listless. He showed me
a "sacred letter" coaxing big businessmen to purchase shares in
PT Dua Satu Tiga Puluh, at the time a newly established company
linked to the national airplane industry.

He also told me of his experience when he was invited to a
dinner attended by well-known businessmen. They were all "held
up" to buy coupons as tokens of their participation in a
government program. By the end of the evening, less than two
hours later, tens of billions of rupiah had been collected. "I
only contributed a little," he said honestly.

An observer likens Indonesian businessmen to milk cows. They
are given various facilities to expand their businesses and their
companies increase in size. Their knowledge is then solicited to
assist various government programs.

"Its only right to give assistance, but the system sometimes
causes headaches, too, especially when business is slow like
now," said one businessman.

People believe they have good reason to suspect business
tycoons, many of whom are Chinese-Indonesians. They cite examples
of Chinese traders being used by the Dutch colonial government as
buffers between them and the indigenous population.

Another claim from colonial times was that traders were
willing to become guards in return for profit or rank. These so-
called "sins" of centuries past have been told to subsequent
generations and the burden of these allegations is still borne by
people today.

The government must take some responsibility for this. The New
Order, consciously or not, has created a fertile field for the
growth of a discriminative atmosphere in society. It seems that
certain regulations were made with the intention of identifying
Indonesians of Chinese origin.

Identity cards have special codes for this societal group.
Admission to state universities is restricted. The same applies
to the Armed Forces' and government agencies' recruitment.
Consequently, 90 percent of Chinese Indonesians find refuge in
the only venue left open to them, namely business.

It is ironical then that when they go into business, the
ethnic Chinese are accused of being economic animals who think
only of money without any social concerns. Another accusation is
that ethnic Chinese dominate more than 70 percent of the
Indonesian economy.

For some reason, people strongly believe that at the highest
level ethnic Chinese are linked inextricably with people in
power. It is asserted that they obtain bank credits more easily
because of a recommendation or "sacred letter" from a senior
government official. People go as far to say that these
businesspeople enjoy all kinds of facilities, including
monopolies, and seem to be "untouched" by the law.

They cite examples of a tycoon in prison who easily escaped or
an ethnic Chinese businessmen accused of tax fraud, causing the
government billions in losses, who was acquitted. In the wake of
events like these indigenous businessmen who fail to obtain
facilities are angered and some make unguarded statements
bordering on racism. It seems that the setting up of
businesspeople's organizations, like HIPPI and HIPLI, is somehow
related to this mood.

This hostility toward tycoons extends to the rest of the
ethnic Chinese community, which in turn leads to an explosive
social situation. People simply believe that the ethnic Chinese
are prospering and enjoying an opulent lifestyles while other
Indonesians are missing out. Each time social unrest explodes,
lower and middle class ethnic Chinese are the first victims. The
recent riots in East Java, Central Java and West Java are an
example.

Social scientists believe the government allows the growth of
prejudice among indigenous people against ethnic Chinese because
of certain political interests. If the government is in an
unstable situation, the ethnic Chinese can easily be turned into
scapegoats.

The scapegoat theory is apparently very fitting when analyzing
the series of riots over the last 13 months. It also explains why
society tends to dislike tycoons. It is possible that the real
target of people's hostility is the power holders. But since
people do not have the courage to vent their frustrations against
them directly, they turn on the tycoons.

The writer is a lecturer in the School of Political and Social
Sciences at the University of Indonesia.